Friday, February 1, 2013

Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch PS3 Review

Level-5 Has Another Winner

I have been playing Level-5 games since the Dark Cloud era and I have to say all Level-5 games are superb pieces of art and great solid games. Studio Ghibli also had a hand in this game and it shows, the animation scenes are beautiful to behold. Ni No Kuni is no expectation, in fact Ni No Kuni us by far one of the best game's I have played in some time and probably one of the best JRPG'S of all time. This game has everything going for it, the music is breathtaking, the game play may be standard fair but it is great, and while the story is filled with very not really evil but evil villains it is actually really great and very emotional ride. So let's start with the story.

Ni No kuni follows Oliver who is deeply hurt when his mother passes away saving him from drowning. Oliver must find his strength from his close friends and his mother wish for him to be strong and help others. He is a boy who goes through much loss but from that loss he becomes stronger, for his friends and everyone around him. Though this story is also about his other friends and companions and how they help and grow throughout the adventure. Though this game is rated E the story can be darker at times but it stays fairly light hearted. The visuals are great, I've always liked cell shaded graphics to realism and this game looks beautiful. Plus with the help of Studio Ghibli the animation and character designs all look amazing. The voice work is also top notch, that goes for both English and Japanese tracks. The music as I have stated before is also beautiful and at times breathtaking, it fits well with the themes of the game. Playing this game is like watching the best parts of all the Studio Ghibli films and that's saying something.

The game play is your standard rpg fair but it plays and controls very well, in fact there is every single rpg staple in this game. Alchemy, Monster Training, Magic, Grinding, Open World, you name it you will find it in this game. All the systems are really fleshed out and work wonderfully, in game controls work well but take sometime to get used to. There are a ton of spells to learn and on top of that a ton of monsters to collect, train, and evolve which is time consuming but fun nonetheless. It is worth noting that you must do side quests because they net you points, money, and various other worthwhile things to make the journey easier.

Words alone cannot explain how good this game is or if you'll like it yourself, but this game is worth a play through and Level-5 has once again shown that they can create superb games and the fact that Studio Ghibli can also apply their skills to video games is also a nice thought. In conclusion, Level-5 and Studio Ghibli have created a superb example of what a video game can do emotionally and artistically. This game is what video games are meant to be, a art form and a entertainment form.